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alisonggg
Cutie
Member since 3/06 4749 total posts
Name:
a
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JDs who aren't practicing law
DH is a practicing attorney but REALLY isn't happy and would love to transition into another field. I was just wondering what are some other fields that anybody here who gave up on practicing law moved into....any insight is appreciated
Message edited 3/13/2007 2:02:52 PM.
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Posted 3/13/07 2:02 PM  |
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KrisT
Two Boys for Me!!
Member since 1/07 5213 total posts
Name:
Kristin
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Re: JDs who aren't practicing law
Is he looking to completely leave the legal field or is he looking to stop practicing law, but would still work in the legal field?
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| Posted 3/13/07 3:10 PM |
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nov04libride
big brother <3
Member since 5/05 14672 total posts
Name:
Me
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Re: JDs who aren't practicing law
My brother kind of hates practicing, and was looking into teaching at a law school or undergrad law classes, but the salary was less than 1/4 of what he makes now. 
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| Posted 3/13/07 3:24 PM |
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alisonggg
Cutie
Member since 3/06 4749 total posts
Name:
a
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Re: JDs who aren't practicing law
Posted by KrisT
Is he looking to completely leave the legal field or is he looking to stop practicing law, but would still work in the legal field?
He is open to either, but he really just wants to get out of the adversarial nature of his work. He does litigation now and it just doesn't suit his personality at all.
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| Posted 3/13/07 3:31 PM |
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alisonggg
Cutie
Member since 3/06 4749 total posts
Name:
a
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Re: JDs who aren't practicing law
Posted by nov04libride
My brother kind of hates practicing, and was looking into teaching at a law school or undergrad law classes, but the salary was less than 1/4 of what he makes now.
Fortunately for us (well really unfortunately, but I'm trying to be positive here) DH makes a really low salary for an attorney so anything different shouldnt a salary cut 
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| Posted 3/13/07 3:34 PM |
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KrisT
Two Boys for Me!!
Member since 1/07 5213 total posts
Name:
Kristin
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Re: JDs who aren't practicing law
Posted by alisonggg
He is open to either, but he really just wants to get out of the adversarial nature of his work. He does litigation now and it just doesn't suit his personality at all.
I understand how he feels because both DH and I are practicing attorneys (litigators). DH no longer wants to work in a firm and it is considering other options - he will most likely be going to work for the government.
Here are a few legal related options:
Your DH may want to consider employment opportunities with Lexis and Thompson West. He can also consider looking into admissions / career services for a colleges and law school. All of the career advisors at my law school were former attorneys. Or maybe he wants to consider getting out of litigation getting into another area of law, such as trusts and estates, real estate, etc. HTH!
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| Posted 3/13/07 3:53 PM |
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alisonggg
Cutie
Member since 3/06 4749 total posts
Name:
a
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Re: JDs who aren't practicing law
Posted by KrisT
thanks so much!!! those are great ideas that we hadn't even thought of yet... good luck to you DH in finding something he enjoys as well!!
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| Posted 3/13/07 4:03 PM |
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HillandRon
LIF Adult
Member since 5/05 2922 total posts
Name:
Hillary
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Re: JDs who aren't practicing law
MY DH is a non practicing attorney, when he left he was an Assistant editor for a legal publishing company and wrote newsletters translating the law into plain english for non attorneys- he did that for 6 years. He wrote about real estate, fair housing , taxation law etc...
Unfortunately he was laid off last year and now is working for Sullivan and Cromwell (ranked I think #1 for law firms in the world) in their Business development group writing the inhouse newsletter and other projects for all the offices all over the world...
As you can see, his passion is to write and he gets to do it everyday for a living...
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| Posted 3/13/07 6:55 PM |
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alisonggg
Cutie
Member since 3/06 4749 total posts
Name:
a
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Re: JDs who aren't practicing law
Posted by HillandRon
As you can see, his passion is to write and he gets to do it everyday for a living...
thats awesome.... thats why my DH wants to take his time in finding something else, he really wants to find something that he is truly interested in. I'm so glad that your husband was able to combine something law related with something he loves
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| Posted 3/13/07 9:55 PM |
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Danamz
LIF Adult
Member since 6/06 1978 total posts
Name:
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Re: JDs who aren't practicing law
Sorry I don't really have advice, but I am a practicing attorney and while I don't hate it, I have to say that lately I have been thinking about other possibilities. I am only a 2nd year associate, but I am already feeling a lack of fulfillment.
Here is a link to a findlaw article on the topic
FINDLAW
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| Posted 3/19/07 8:11 PM |
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MrsT
Enjoying wedded bliss.....
Member since 4/06 1323 total posts
Name:
Katrina
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Re: JDs who aren't practicing law
I moved into commercial real estate (not legal) from IP law after clerking at the Court of Appeals and practicing at a firm for years. I did not mind the adversarial process and rather enjoyed taking depositions and going to court. What I did not like was having NO LIFE, being at the beck & call of all of the partners in my group (nationwide) and having to be in court on Christmas Eve
My salary now is like 50% less than what I was making however, I work from home at least 3 days a week  I also have my brokers license so selling a house once in a while helps to supplement my income.
I have a friend who no longer practices but she is in career development at a local law school. She seems to love it and has been at various schools over the last 10 years - each one better ranked than the last. I think she is at the top of the list now though 
Another friend was working for West after a brief stint at a big firm. She really enjoyed it although she is taking a turn at commercial real estate right now.
Message edited 6/5/2007 10:49:27 PM.
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| Posted 3/22/07 5:28 PM |
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mrsgafforio
LIF Adult
Member since 3/07 3929 total posts
Name:
Christine
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Re: JDs who aren't practicing law
I don't have a JD, but a lot of the people I work with do. I am a billing coordinator for a lawfirm. You don't really need experience in this field, especially if you have a JD. Salary wise you can really move up quickly, and the level of stress is def less than an attorney!! Hope that helps!
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| Posted 3/23/07 12:45 PM |
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CookiePuss
Cake from Outer Space!
Member since 5/05 14021 total posts
Name:
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Re: JDs who aren't practicing law
Posted by alisonggg
Posted by HillandRon
As you can see, his passion is to write and he gets to do it everyday for a living...
thats awesome.... thats why my DH wants to take his time in finding something else, he really wants to find something that he is truly interested in. I'm so glad that your husband was able to combine something law related with something he loves
One JD I know works for Garban on one of the bond desks. I also know of several attorneys that work for insurance firms consulting on large estate planning, business planning, etc.
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| Posted 4/3/07 5:44 PM |
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charon54
My two boys!
Member since 5/05 7279 total posts
Name:
Rebecca
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Re: JDs who aren't practicing law
We have a lot of non-practicing lawyers who work at Kaplan where I work. They either work for our LSAT division or for PMBR, our bar review division. They either teach, work in marketing, curriculum development, etc.
We also have lawyers who work in our real estate department.
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| Posted 4/4/07 5:05 PM |
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Ali
LIF Adolescent
Member since 6/05 573 total posts
Name:
Allison
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Re: JDs who aren't practicing law
Posted by HillandRon
Unfortunately he was laid off last year and now is working for Sullivan and Cromwell (ranked I think #1 for law firms in the world) in their Business development group writing the inhouse newsletter and other projects for all the offices all over the world...
HilandRon,
I am an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell. Small world!
As for other non-practicing options, what about a legal recruiter. I get calls from tons of recruiters, all of whom have JDs and left their practices to be recruiters.
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| Posted 5/31/07 8:29 PM |
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Ltdentway99
LIF Adult
Member since 9/06 1752 total posts
Name:
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Re: JDs who aren't practicing law
Alison, my husband and yours should become friends. My DH hates the law field. He has not found anything fulfilling about it.
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| Posted 6/4/07 3:36 PM |
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itsbabytime
LIF Adult
Member since 11/05 9644 total posts
Name:
Me
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Re: JDs who aren't practicing law
Posted by nov04libride
My brother kind of hates practicing, and was looking into teaching at a law school or undergrad law classes, but the salary was less than 1/4 of what he makes now.
This is true. Also, though, getting a tenure track teaching position at a Law School is VERY difficult even if you have great credentials.
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| Posted 6/4/07 6:09 PM |
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Bxgell2
Perfection
Member since 5/05 16438 total posts
Name:
Beth
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Re: JDs who aren't practicing law
Posted by Ellebelle1
Alison, my husband and yours should become friends. My DH hates the law field. He has not found anything fulfilling about it.
I think your husbands should explore other options - maybe work for a government agency, in an area where they have a particular interest? How about a public interest group? What about a smaller firm? It necessitates a pay cut, but also usually has less hours and more responsibility.
There are legal jobs that can be fulfilling and rewarding, it just takes a little bit of research and patience. I work for the Department of Education, investigating allegations of discrimination against students in public schools and Universities - it's enormously rewarding and a totally different experience as compared to working in private practice. And, the benefit of working for my agency is that, while the pay is less than private practice, the hours and benefits more than make up for it, AND, the attorneys are permitted to engage in other legal practice to bring in additional income.
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| Posted 6/6/07 10:47 AM |
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